WEBVTT 00:00.230 --> 00:03.840 So let's wrap this up with a little role playing exercise as an activity. 00:03.860 --> 00:07.970 So imagine that we're in a situation where we need to crack down on code reviews. 00:07.970 --> 00:10.970 You know, the quality of the code in our team is starting to slip. 00:11.000 --> 00:15.740 Imagine you are the project manager for a new application that's being developed in your organization, 00:15.740 --> 00:20.300 and more than one engineer has come to you and said, Hey, you know, our coding standards aren't really 00:20.300 --> 00:21.530 being enforced consistently. 00:21.530 --> 00:24.590 You know, people aren't really doing code reviews like they're supposed to be doing. 00:24.590 --> 00:26.810 They're not applying consistent criteria to them. 00:26.810 --> 00:29.320 And as a result, we kind of have this mess on our hands. 00:29.330 --> 00:32.030 You got to do something about this, Mr. Project Manager. 00:32.360 --> 00:35.840 So you're going to have to corner the technical lead and get to the bottom of what's going on. 00:35.840 --> 00:38.210 And that's what this next activity is all about. 00:38.210 --> 00:42.290 I'm going to play the role of the technical lead, who you've called into your desk to talk to about 00:42.290 --> 00:43.430 this situation. 00:43.430 --> 00:48.680 And I'm going to pause after each piece that I talk about and give you an opportunity to think about 00:48.680 --> 00:53.390 how you might respond in a way that might be effective in communicating with this engineer who is across 00:53.390 --> 00:54.410 the desk from you. 00:54.410 --> 00:57.020 And then I'll show you how I might have dealt with that situation. 00:57.050 --> 01:01.970 Things to practice As you're going through this activity, risk check the engineer's time and respect 01:01.970 --> 01:02.660 their focus. 01:02.660 --> 01:04.130 You know, make sure you're acknowledging that. 01:04.130 --> 01:05.290 Yes, I understand. 01:05.300 --> 01:07.670 I dragged you away from your desk or you're being productive. 01:07.700 --> 01:09.350 But this is important. 01:09.710 --> 01:11.240 Practice, reflective listening. 01:11.240 --> 01:15.710 You know, make sure you're confirming with the engineer across the desk that they understand what they're 01:15.710 --> 01:18.170 being told and you understand what they're telling you. 01:18.200 --> 01:19.130 Be direct. 01:19.130 --> 01:20.900 You know, don't waste don't mince words. 01:20.900 --> 01:23.200 You know, get right to the point of what you want to talk about. 01:23.210 --> 01:24.620 Don't waste their time. 01:24.630 --> 01:29.690 Identify any communication barriers you may have with this person up front and address them directly 01:29.690 --> 01:33.710 and work together to find a solution and make that solution happen. 01:33.720 --> 01:35.000 So let's dive in. 01:35.000 --> 01:38.360 I'm going to play the role of the engineer here sitting across the desk from you. 01:38.360 --> 01:42.920 And after each thing I say, I'll give you an opportunity to pause and think about how you might respond 01:42.920 --> 01:46.640 before hearing how an actual manager might respond in that situation. 01:49.920 --> 01:51.120 Hey, you wanted to talk? 02:00.160 --> 02:00.730 Yeah. 02:00.820 --> 02:02.170 Promise to keep this short. 02:02.170 --> 02:06.040 I tried to catch her right after lunch to avoid distracting you. 02:06.430 --> 02:07.000 Thanks. 02:07.000 --> 02:07.240 Yeah. 02:07.240 --> 02:09.220 I'm neck deep in coding up that new app. 02:09.220 --> 02:10.000 What's up? 02:10.810 --> 02:16.150 I've been hearing from others on the team that they're worried about inconsistent coding standards. 02:16.180 --> 02:21.490 Our app has a lot of different styles and designs within it, and it's making it hard to maintain. 02:21.490 --> 02:26.890 I just want to understand what our code review and design review policies are right now and if you think 02:26.890 --> 02:28.030 changes are needed. 02:28.880 --> 02:29.120 Yeah. 02:29.120 --> 02:32.560 Honestly, it's just been too crazy to have time for reviews lately. 02:32.570 --> 02:34.610 A lot of them have fallen by the wayside. 02:42.840 --> 02:46.440 I understand there just isn't enough time in the day to build things. 02:46.440 --> 02:50.640 So schedule pressure is what's causing some reviews to get skipped. 02:50.670 --> 02:52.260 Well, that's a big part of it anyhow. 02:52.290 --> 02:55.330 Technically, I guess we are actually ahead of schedule right now. 02:55.350 --> 02:57.540 So you're saying schedule is just a part of it? 02:57.570 --> 02:58.820 Is anything else going on? 02:58.830 --> 03:02.390 Well, to be blunt, some folks on the team don't take kindly to feedback. 03:02.400 --> 03:05.160 It's easier to just let them do their own thing sometimes. 03:05.580 --> 03:06.960 Why do you think that is? 03:06.990 --> 03:08.970 I'm an engineer, not a psychotherapist. 03:09.000 --> 03:10.080 You tell me. 03:18.240 --> 03:20.760 I mean, it could be a number of things. 03:20.790 --> 03:27.180 Some people just take their work very personal and interpret any criticism as a criticism of themselves. 03:27.210 --> 03:32.120 Sometimes there are weird social hierarchies at play we might not even know about. 03:32.130 --> 03:37.020 Or maybe people just want to get stuff done and see code and design reviews as a waste of time. 03:37.050 --> 03:39.090 Could it be anything along those lines? 03:39.270 --> 03:42.030 I guess I could think of cases where all of those might apply. 03:42.060 --> 03:43.920 For myself, I just want to get things done. 03:43.920 --> 03:47.100 Really triggering personal drama just gets in the way. 03:55.370 --> 04:01.190 I understand nobody likes dealing with interpersonal issues when they're stuff to build, but nobody 04:01.190 --> 04:06.160 likes maintaining systems that have inconsistent coding and design practices either. 04:06.170 --> 04:08.420 You have to think about the long term to. 04:09.330 --> 04:10.400 Yeah, you're right. 04:10.410 --> 04:12.780 I guess we have to put the hammer down on code reviews. 04:19.060 --> 04:23.600 Well, maybe we can do it in such a way that diffuses some of the drama. 04:23.620 --> 04:26.170 How are code reviews supposed to work right now? 04:26.200 --> 04:27.490 Who reviews who? 04:27.610 --> 04:32.740 Well, you're supposed to publish a request for a review, and whoever grabs the request first does 04:32.740 --> 04:33.250 it. 04:33.280 --> 04:35.470 Usually that's Denise for some reason. 04:35.500 --> 04:41.810 Sounds like we might need to change that system and make code reviews more than just Denise's opinion. 04:41.830 --> 04:46.990 I can see how people might just start to feel like it's personal criticism if it's always from the same 04:46.990 --> 04:47.720 person. 04:47.740 --> 04:51.610 How could we improve the code review system to spread the load more? 04:51.850 --> 04:56.650 Well, what I've seen in other places is a system where others in the team are just randomly assigned 04:56.650 --> 05:00.670 to a code review request and at least two different people review the same code. 05:00.700 --> 05:03.580 That way you can see if they picked up on the same issues or not. 05:03.580 --> 05:09.100 And that helps you understand where the real problems are as opposed to just individual stylistic preferences. 05:09.220 --> 05:11.140 That sounds like a good practice. 05:11.170 --> 05:15.520 Do we have solid guidelines for what the right coding styles are and everything? 05:15.640 --> 05:17.950 Well, we do, but they're not really enforced. 05:25.960 --> 05:32.080 It might also remove some of the personal nature of the feedback if it adhered to well understood standards. 05:32.110 --> 05:38.090 Saying this code doesn't fit this standard is a lot less likely to be taken personally. 05:38.110 --> 05:39.610 It's just stating a fact. 05:39.640 --> 05:41.080 Right, right. 05:41.080 --> 05:41.470 Right. 05:41.470 --> 05:42.580 Yeah, I agree. 05:42.610 --> 05:44.170 So let's make that happen. 05:44.170 --> 05:49.000 As you said, we're ahead of schedule, so let me carve out some time to shore up on our code review 05:49.000 --> 05:52.530 system and make sure our coding standards are properly distributed. 05:52.570 --> 05:56.350 Looks like we could pull Tim and put him on this for a couple of weeks.